Civil rights groups sue New Jersey to de-segregate schools

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by a civil rights coalition claims racial segregation in New Jersey schools persists more than six decades after the Supreme Court ruled the practice unconstitutional.

The Latino Action Network, the New Jersey chapter of the NAACP and others unveiled their lawsuit against the state on Thursday. It was announced on the 64th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling that struck down so-called separate but equal schools.

The lawsuit cites a UCLA civil rights report and contends New Jersey has one of "the most segregated public school systems in the country."

The plaintiffs say about two-thirds of black students attend schools that 80 percent or more nonwhite. They say 62 percent of Latino students attend schools that are more than three-fourths nonwhite.

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